Paul Robeson

Numerous people have different meanings for the word "HERO". Personally my definition of a hero is someone who overcomes challenges and diversity while helping other people. My hero is Paul Leroy Robeson! I see him as a hero because he was someone who spoke out against anything that he felt was unfair. He also made the black image look more sophisticated.

"Paul Robeson was the epitome of the twentieth century renaissance man" (PBS), and he accomplished many things during his life time. "He was given a scholarship to Rutgers University, where he received an unprecedented twelve major letters in four years and was his class valedictorian" (PBS). After graduating out of Rutgers University, Paul then went to Columbia University Law School and became a lawyer. However, racial tensions ended his career in law quickly. Finally, Paul went back to school to get an education in theatre, and became one of the most known actors and singers during his time. Paul ended up going to three different colleges and getting multiple degrees to end up becoming a famous singer during his life.

Many people have not heard of Paul Robeson being a big public figure that spoke out for African American rights, but there are many reasons we should celebrate him during Black History month. During that time they didn't want somebody as famous as Paul to speak out. So they did and said many things to make him look bad in the community's eyes. So as an effect Paul was not known for it but he spoke out for African American rights. He risked all of his fame and fortune just so he could speak out for what was right. Paul was always stressed because of the criticism he received, and that made his health fall into shambles. Finally, Paul ended up dying broke and unremembered because he decided to speak out for African Americans.

Paul Robeson changed black culture during his time in several ways. Back in the twenties, blacks were looked at as stupid. But Paul Robeson was one of the people who gave blacks a good name, and he also made a positive impact on how they were looked at. Also, during the twenties Paul impacted black actresses not to take roles that demoralized blacks and gave them a bad reputation. This is how Paul Robeson impacted the black culture and community.

Overall, I feel that Paul Robeson had one of the most extraordinary impacts on the The Harlem Renaissance. He accomplished many things and was once looked at as if he was the Martin Luther King Jr of his time. He was one of the people who spoke out on whatever he felt was important. Paul Robeson changed the definition of the word hero for me and maybe even others. That is why I call Paul Robeson my hero.